


Training Maneuvers

by Aykayencee



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Ereri if you squint, Fluff, Gen, Training, like really hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 09:45:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17404595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aykayencee/pseuds/Aykayencee
Summary: Even without the furor of a fight, without adrenaline coursing through his veins, it was a thrill to watch Levi.  //Levi teaches Eren some new techniques with his mobility gear. Takes place when the Scouts return to Sina after their first encounter with the female titan.





	Training Maneuvers

Eren was quite sure that Levi was supposed to be staying off of his injured leg. That is to say, Eren was quite sure that Levi was not supposed to be flying through the air at bone-breaking speeds, whirling like a tornado and slashing apart a dummy like it had just killed his entire family. Which, in all due respect, it kind of had. 

He landed hard, the momentum from his spin carrying through and giving him so much speed that Eren missed the precise technique he had used. Really, he was just amazed that Levi’s legs hadn’t shattered on impact.

He didn’t miss the way Levi flinched and stifled a grunt as he straightened, though. His mouth opened, wordlessly. For several moments, he was stuck trying to figure out what to say, vacillating between whether or not he should point out Levi’s injury. Before he could, though, his thoughts were cut off.

“You’ve been standing there for ten minutes now. Spit it out.”

The captain sounded decidedly irritable, so Eren made what had always been the wiser choice and didn’t bring it up. Instead, he opted for a weak, “I was... Wondering what you were doing?”

Levi stared.

“And, uh,” he added, flustered, “watching you train. Sir.”

It had sounded insufficient in his head and it sounded even worse once he said it out loud. He expected a kick, a chiding, some kind of retort, at least — instead, he only got a blasé look.

“Well? You’ve got your gear, haven’t you? Join me.” Without another word, Levi shot off his wires and swung back into the treeline.

Eren obliged in his offer and followed him up, catching himself in a rappel position against a sturdy trunk before hopping off and flipping himself upward so that he could stand on a branch. It took him a moment to find his balance, and found that there was an unimpressed gaze trained on him when he did.

From his position a short distance away, Levi called, “You waste a lot of gas, don’t you? Aim to do everything in as few motions as you can.”

Eren nodded mutely, slightly embarrassed because he had liked his previous maneuver. Levi was right, though. The second jump to get back onto his feet was purely for show; he could easily have aimed his hooks higher and made it in one go.

The optimism from his epiphany was quickly crushed, though. 

“And not just in that last ascent,” Levi continued. “You could use some work with your maneuver gear in general. You’re clumsy and it burns through too much fuel.”

“Yes, sir,” Eren replied. “I also have my titan form, though, and that doesn’t require gas, so-”

“-I suppose it’s because you’ve been spending so much time with Hange as a titan that you’re falling behind in your training,” Levi muttered. Whether it was in afterthought or in an attempt to console him, Eren was unsure.

“You’re trying to rush to where you want to go and it’s slowing you down. Gravity will give you momentum, the gas is just a boost. Let your gear pull you to your destination,” he explained, then stopped, frowning. “Here, it’s easier if I show you. Watch.”

As easily as walking, Levi stepped off the branch, seeming to fall to the side, before his gear pulled him back over so that he soared in an arc and landed like he was floating, not once touching the triggers for gas. “Did you catch that, brat?”

He turned around, watching as Eren imitated him. Although, “imitate” wasn’t quite the word, because even without the added speed, Eren’s personal style was unmistakable, his posture leaned forwards, far more aggressive than Levi’s. He dropped solidly onto a low bough of a tree, both feet steadily connecting at the same.

Levi showed no signs of approval, only saying, “Aim farther than where you think you should be aiming,” then waiting for Eren to try again.

Once more, he took off, exhilarated by the added natural speed. By force of nature, or instinct, or just because he could, his fingers squeezed against the gas triggers and he was barely able to stop himself from letting out a whoop.

“ _Don’t use gas!_ ” 

The bark snapped him out of his euphoria and he lost his balance, tipping into a wild half-spin half-flip that ended with a rather embarrassing crash collision with some sticks and branches that were far sharper than sticks and branches had any right to be. He wiped his hand against his cheek and it came out slightly bloodied, but he could tell that the cut wasn’t deep enough to be of concern. 

He glared at Levi, who was ( _oh-so elegantly_ ) landing a few trees ahead of him. There was a moment of pause where Levi leaned against the trunk, weight entirely off of his left leg. When he said nothing, Eren realised that he was supposed to try again.

This time, Eren forced himself to resist his urges and just keep sailing, letting gravity work for him, as he had been told. He was still moving quickly, he found. Not in the powerful bursts he usually used, but in a smoother, refined way, without any loss of control.

His landing was sound. A little voice in his head grumbled that his last landing could have been good too, if he hadn’t been distracted.

“See, just like that,” Levi said. “You already have the muscle and control to do things properly. I don’t know what the hell they’re teaching you in basic training.”

“I’m good,” he blurted, surprising even himself. “I have strength, I have skill, and I have drive. Teach me something more advanced.”

Levi’s eyebrows quirked up. “Oh? Are you asking to learn my personal techniques?”

Resolutely, Eren nodded.

“You know, it’s going to be near impossible because you’ve already trained with a different grip on your blades. You don’t have the right muscles to pull off a reverse grip properly..”

“Then teach me something else, with just the mobility gear,” Eren pressed. “It could be useful someday, even if I don’t use it often.”

For a moment, Levi didn’t respond, and Eren wilted under his searching gaze. “This one’s good for escapes and avoiding fast enemies,” he said eventually.

Eren seemed to sag even more. It made the most sense for him to learn defensive maneuvers, since his goal was always to stay safe and survive until he was needed, but he had been looking for something flashy. He wanted to whip around titans faster than they could blink, or at least learn a sequence of flips he could use to one-up Jean. His doubts vanished as soon as Levi leapt into action.

When he had heard that it was for escaping, he had figured that he would just be dodging through some trees or moving with an irregular pattern to make himself a harder target to catch. He definitely hadn’t expected Levi to dart away, wasting plenty of gas himself. Before he could blink, Levi had spun a full 180° at the drop of a pin and was blazing back towards him before executing a series of equally tight turns which weaved him around and between trees and branches.

Even without the furor of a fight, without adrenaline coursing through his veins, it was a thrill to watch Levi.

Suddenly, Levi was right beside him, the branch they were both on swaying under the sudden weight. “Suitable?” he asked, smirking. 

“...Yeah, that was really something.” Eren had no idea how Levi had made his gear work like that, nevermind the fact that he didn’t think his body would survive such quick changes in direction.

“You have to shoot out both wires, just a split second,” Levi said, seeing Eren’s expression. “The first one should be around a third of the amount you want to turn, and it makes it less jarring for your body when the second one drags you around.”

Eren made to jump off and go for it, but was stopped by Levi grabbing his arm. “Don’t do what I just did,” he added hastily. “I was just… having some fun. Go slow. _No gas_.”

He did go slow, getting into the air with a light, bouncing rhythm and identifying the two trees he would use from the corner of his eye. He twisted his torso around slightly, fired off the first wire, then the ne- 

He was jerked to the side, body unprepared to go in that direction and unable to correct in time; frantically, he shot out another wire to turn again and regain control, but he kept going, too fast, in the wrong direction, his second hook had missed, of all things to go wrong, it had to be something so stupid and there was a whole bunch of branches about to have a very unfortunate meeting with his already-bleeding face-

Suddenly, he was scooped out of the air, away from any incoming obstacles. His maneuver gear had gone slack because there was so much wire in between him and the hook, so he retracted them, fingers numb and not quite sure of what was happening.

They landed and he was dumped unceremoniously to the ground.

He looked to see Levi hissing out a curse and stumbling, before all but falling against a tree. 

“You alright, brat?” he said, a hint of pain showing through his lowered voice.

It took him a moment to focus again, but from a quick inventory of himself, he could tell that he was fine. Quickly, he got up, tugging his shirt down and looking at Levi, who actually seemed to be worse condition than he was in. 

“Yeah, I’m good, but… Are you actually supposed to be here right now?” Eren asked, finally voicing the question that had been stuck in his head.

“...I am, as long as you don’t tell anyone I was here. Especially not Erwin.”

“You… Really shouldn’t,” Eren said slowly. He glanced at Levi’s stance, noticing how he was favouring his left side to the point that he was almost entirely balanced on his right leg. “You’re not going to recover if you don’t rest.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi snapped. “It’s going to hurt either way, and I can’t let a minor injury get in the way.

“Anyways,” he continued, overtly changing the topic, “I said there was a split second between the two shots, not half a fucking decade. You have to fire off the second before the first lands. But not today. I’m tired, the other cadets are scheduled to use this training ground in fifteen minutes and you have a date with Hange.” 

He began walking back towards base, limp not quite hidden, leaving Eren behind him. Over his shoulder, he called, “But, if you want to work on this some more, I’ll be here again at the same time tomorrow.”

Eren grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it (or if you didn't), I take requests on my [Tumblr](https://aykayencee.tumblr.com/).


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